


Killing You Softly

by Kat_astrophy



Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: AU, Comments welcome and appreciated, F/M, Fluffy scenes later to come, Lila isn't Antari, first fic on AO3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 10:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11919408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_astrophy/pseuds/Kat_astrophy
Summary: "You are to kill Kell Maresh"That was the last thing Delilah Bard heard from the Veskan queen before departing for London.AUSet before the events of the series, Lila was born in Red London and has lived in the Veskan kingdom for as long as she can remember. Now she has been given the task of assassinating the Antari during a series of balls meant to find him a wife. Little does she know, it won't be so easy.





	1. The Arrival

"You are to kill Kell Maresh"

That was the last thing Delilah Bard heard from the Veskan queen before departing for London. 

 

 

"Mother I do not need help finding a wife!" Kell said to Emira.

"I just think it's time for you to find someone to settle down with! Why is that so much for a mother to want?"

"Rhy isn't even married and he's your actual son." Kell said confused. Emira gave him a disappointed look for mentioning the fact that he was not her child.

"Yes, but he is most likely going to have an arranged marriage and we have not found the right person. We just want you to be happy Kell." She said with a loving gaze. Kell felt his chest tighten at the look.

"Fine, but does it have to be so elaborate? I really don't need a week of balls." 

"We would do nothing less for a Maresh." She said with a wide smile.

 

Lila laid in her bed on the ship, feeling the waves push the ship back and forth. She was trying to sleep, but luck was not on her side; her mind kept drifting to the questions is always asked: Where did she come from? Who are her real parents? Why did her queen seem so reluctant to tell her about her past?

As she laid there her mind drifted to the infamous Kell. She had heard the rumors, that he was the only thing keeping the Arnes kingdom strong. She didn't understand why her queen sent _her_ though, she wasn't an assassin and she certainly wasn't the prettiest girl in the queen’s court, which would probably be important in seducing a prince. 

 

Kell laid in his bed while Rhy sat in his corner chair. 

"Stop looking so mad" Rhy said, "it will give you wrinkles." 

"I just don't want to spend the next week surrounded by women who only want to be there because I'm a "prince". " Kell said exasperated, "and I don't care about wrinkles."

"You complain too much; most men would beg to be surrounded by women who want them." Rhy said while rolling his eyes, "and you will care about those wrinkles when your lonely and looking for a wife."  Kell rolled over, pressing his face into his pillow, and moaned softly. He couldn't believe that he was going to have to spend the next week entertaining crowds of people, he wouldn't get any time alone. Eventually Rhy left and Kell fell into a fitful sleep.

 

Lila's feet hit the solid land and she breathed in the scent of flowers. She never knew that London had such a strong scent, or that it seemed to glow red; though, surprisingly, it didn't give the city an eerie glow, it made it seem warm and welcoming. She slowly made her way to the market to browse, she noticed many girls milling about. They all seemed to be shopping for the ball tonight.

'Great' Lila thought, 'I'm going to have to get his attention with these girls around. Some of them look like they've been bred for this' Lila by no means thought she was ugly or unattractive, but she would admit she was boyish looking; and if she knew men, they weren't looking for boyish. 

As Lila walked, she was drawn to the edge of the market. Eventually she came upon a stall with accessories lying all about, and a curtain that looked like it led to a room lined with dresses. While she was looking, an older woman appeared out of the corner of Lila's eye. 

"Hello, I'm Calla" the woman said warmly, "can I help you find anything?" 

"Well I'm actually planning on going to the ball later tonight, but I don't have anything to wear." Lila said. Her queen had decided that Lila should find something to wear in London so she didn't stand out. 

"Well, I can certainly help with that." Calla said while beaming. She went into the back and brought out a few dresses. 

"They look like cupcakes." Lila said while frowning. Calla looked her up and down for a moment and then went into the back again. She returned a few moments later with a sleek black and silver dress. It had small straps at the top and was fitted in the waist and hips before flowing out slightly towards the bottom. Silver lined the bodice and bottom of the dress in intricate lines. Lila examined it for a moment, and decided that it was subtle enough for her. She wanted to look beautiful but not like a colorful pastry. Calla showed her how to put it on and then gave her some accessories to go with them; a pair of small black heels, Lila wouldn't even try on anything sparkly or tall, and a thin silver chain with a feather charm.

"Why a feather?" Lila asked.

"You seem like the kind of person who likes to be free, like a bird." Calla said. Lila paid for the dress and accessories and started towards the place she was staying. It was a small tavern towards the center of the city, it had cheap rooms above it and all the nicer places to stay were booked. 

Lila climbed the stairs of the tavern and unlocked the green door to her room. She walked in, threw her dress in a chair, and plopped onto the bed. She knew she should be getting ready, but she just wanted to rest her eyes beforehand; it was going to be a long night afterall.

 

Kell looked at himself in the mirror, his brother had made him wear an actual suit for the ball instead of his usual coat. He felt uncomfortable in the fine fabrics and wished he could take them off and change. 

'Rhy can pull of these fancy clothes' Kell thought, 'but I just look out of place' he was trying to fix his hair when he heard a knock on his door. 

"Come in." He said, still looking in the mirror.

"Ah, I am excellent at picking out outfits, aren't I?" Rhy said from the doorway.

"I wouldn't say excellent, but I guess I look decent." Said Kell taking one last look in the mirror.

"See, you care about how you look, you're obviously excited about this!" Rhy said triumphantly.

"No, I obviously just want to get this over with" Kell said walking towards the door.

"Well, I think you're excited." Rhy said as he fell into stride behind Kell.

 

Lila had accidentally fallen asleep and was now rushing to the castle in her dress, hoping she didn't miss the beginning. As she approached she noticed the guards were still taking invitations. She glided up the steps as well as she could in the heels and handed the guard her fake invitation. The guard looked at it, "Elizabeth Strassford" it read. He nodded to her and she proceeded to move into the crowd waiting it go in. A few moments later horns blared and the doors opened. Lila stepped into the ballroom.

* * *

 

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading and if you liked it please leave a comment or kudo! This is my first fic on AO3 so if you have constructive criticism please feel free to write a comment.


	2. The Meeting

Kell stood atop the balcony of the ballroom and watched as the guests started to flood in. At least a hundred people were crowded into the ballroom, Kell didn’t know how Emira expected him to talk to them all. As he stood and watched Rhy appeared behind him.

“Shouldn’t you be down there wooing your potential wife?” Rhy asked smugly.

“I guess technically I _should_ be, but that doesn’t mean that’s where I _want_ to be.” Kell said, “besides, there are still guests coming in, it would be rude of me to start without them.” Rhy stepped beside Kell and leaned against the banner of the balcony. They stood in silence for a few moments when Kell noticed someone walk through the doors to the ballroom. She wasn’t dressed like the other partygoers and she certainly didn’t seem as excited to be there as the other women. Kell stared at her for a moment before his brother brought him out of his trance.

“Oh Kell, have you already fallen for someone?” He said sarcastically. Kell gave him an exasperated look and rolled his eyes.

“Of course not, she just stood out.” Kell said looking back towards the ballroom floor. When he looked back down she was gone. “I should probably get down there before mother notices.”

“Yes, she won’t be happy if she finds out you spent the whole party sulking.” Rhy said.

“Who said I was sulking?” Kell said as he walked towards the stairs.

 

Lila stepped into the ballroom and had to stop herself from gawking, the ballroom was gorgeous. The floor was some sort of marble with veins of gold running through it, fine red drapery hung from the sides of the walls, and a large chandelier dangled from the ceiling. As she looked around she noticed that none of the royal family had arrived yet.

‘Good,’ Lila thought, ‘I’ll have time to get a drink.’ Lila walked towards the side of the room, finding a table with various foods and drinks on them. She picked up a glass of spiced wine and shifted toward the corner. She had never been one for parties or balls, too many words and pleasantries. She preferred speaking with her actions, if someone had upset her it was finished with one of them bleeding.

Lila noticed a rush of girls moving and saw a tall slender figure moving down the steps. ‘So, this must be the Antari.’ Lila thought. She moved closer to get a better look; he had a thin angled face with high cheekbones, deep blue eyes, and red slightly wavy hair. He turned once he got to the bottom of the stairs and Lila saw the other side of his face. She knew Antari had one eye that was black, but she never imagined how _completely_ black it was until now; it was impossible to tell where his iris was supposed to be, it was just one unchanging color.

Kell stepped onto a raised platform and horns began to sing once more; the king and queen entered the ballroom and sat on two thrones on the platform. After the king sat he raised a glass of wine and music began to play. Kell stepped off the platform and was immediately surrounded by no less than twenty women. He tried to be pleasant but it was difficult with so many people wanting attention from him. Eventually he excused himself from the group of women and moved towards the drinks.

‘If I’m going to be here all night I might as well drink a little.’ Kell thought as he raised the glass of wine to his lips. As he drank he noticed the woman in black again. She was standing toward the opposite edge of the room with a drink in her hand and a disinterested look on her face. He was halfway across the ballroom floor before he noticed he was moving. As he approached she gave him a strange look and moved to the side slightly so that he could stand next to her. They stood in silence for a moment before Kell said anything.

“You don’t seem too happy to be here.” Kell stated still looking forward.

“I’m not really one for large parties filled with ravenous looking women.” She said nodding towards the women mingling in the center.

“Then why are you here?” Kell asked.

Lila had to think for a moment about the story she had made up in case anyone asked, she hadn’t expected to have to talk about it on the first night. “My father sent me, he thought that I should come and try to woo you with my obvious good looks.” She said gesturing to herself and laughing lightly. Kell smirked slightly at the comment.

“Don’t sell yourself short, at least you don’t look like someone smeared paint on your face.” He said as he looked around the room. Lila chuckled.

“Yes, I guess that’s true.” She said as she looked at two women approaching them. Kell apparently saw them too, he quickly asked her if she would like to dance; before she could answer she was being whisked into the center of the ballroom. Once they reached the center he pulled her close and they started dancing slowly.

“Sorry,” Kell said quietly, “I didn’t feel like having another conversation about meeting family members.”

“It’s fine, I just wasn’t expecting it.” Lila said as she looked down. She didn’t usually feel short around men, but right now she felt small; Kell was at least half a foot taller than her. Lila’s thoughts were interrupted when Kell spoke.

“We don’t have to keep dancing if it makes you uncomfortable.” Kell said almost sheepishly.

“No this is fine.” Lila was silently kicking herself for not bringing any of her equipment with her, she hadn’t thought she would get anywhere near this close on the first ball. Lila wasn’t that upset though, she had a whole week. Not to mention she hadn’t danced in a long time, and Kell was a good partner; he never stumbled and lead enough that she didn’t have to think.

‘He’s not at all what I expected him to be.’ Lila thought. She had expected a pretentious spoiled prince like the ones in Vesk; not this quiet, slightly grumpy, prince who was dancing with her now. The music started to slow and quiet, Kell bowed in front of her and stepped closely so only she could hear.

“I hope I see you tomorrow.” He said softly. Lila thought she felt herself blush slightly and bit her tongue to remind herself that she wasn’t here to be flirted with. Before she could respond, Kell was dragged away by who she assumed was Prince Rhy, based on the crown he wore. The ball slowly came to a close and Lila walked back to the tavern. As she walked into her room and laid down her mind drifted.

‘Six days left.’  was the last thing Lila thought before falling asleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment or kudo!


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